Conventionally, in order to store unvulcanized raw rubber such as a tire tread or side walls, a method is known in which an elongated raw rubber member, which has a fixed cross-sectional configuration and which is extruded from an extruder, is wound and stored.
At this time, since raw rubber has a viscosity, if it is wound as it is, an outside portion and an inside portion of the wound raw rubber are adhered to each other.
For this reason, a method is generally known in which the raw rubber member extruded from the extruder is wound through a liner, and the liner is interposed between respective layers of the wound raw rubber member, thus preventing adhesion of the raw rubber to itself.
In general, unvulcanized raw rubber has plasticity, and tends to deform upon receipt of mechanical stress. When unvulcanized raw rubber is wound together with a liner, raw rubber is deformed due to tension of the liner and due to the raw rubber's own weight.
Raw rubber deforms largely due to its own weight particularly when it is overlapped in a step form. This hinders in a later building processing and noticeably deteriorates uniformity performance of a product (nonuniformity).
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, a storing apparatus for an elongated member has been proposed in which spacers 102 are attached to both ends of a liner 103 to be integrated with each other. A raw rubber member 101 is wound around a reel and the liner 103 is interposed between layers of the wound raw rubber member 101. A spacing d is formed between an outside portion of the raw rubber member 101 and an inside portion of the liner 103. Accordingly, deformation of the raw rubber member 101 can be prevented.
As shown in FIG. 16, a storing apparatus for an elongated member is proposed in which receiving members 204 and 205 are respectively disposed at mutually facing sides of a pair of mutually facing rotational members 202 and 203 facing each other, along spirals which are separated from each other at a regular interval k around a central axis C of a reel. An elongated member 201 is wound, through a liner 206, by the receiving members 204 and 205 of the reel. A spacing d is formed between an outside portion of the wound elongated member 201 and an inside portion of the liner 206. Accordingly, plastic deformation of a raw rubber product can be prevented.
In the apparatus in which the spacers 102 are integrated with both ends of the liner 103 (see FIG. 15) or in the apparatus having a pair of the receiving members 204 and 205 disposed along spirals that are separated from each other at a regular interval (see FIG. 16), a spacing d can be formed between an outside portion of the wound elongated product and an inside portion of the liner, whereby occurrence of plastic deformation of a raw rubber product can be prevented.
Since there are many raw rubber products which have different thickness, in the above-described storing apparatuses shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a spacing d between spirals is determined on the basis of the thickest raw rubber product.
Therefore, in a case in which a thinner raw rubber member is wound, a spacing d becomes larger, a winding length of the raw rubber member becomes shorter, and winding efficiency is deteriorated.
In order to solve this problem, attempts to prepare a plurality of the liners 103 in which the spacers 102 have different thickness or a plurality of apparatuses each having a different spacing d between spirals have caused drawbacks in that a manufacturing cost of the apparatus becomes higher and efficiency in use also deteriorates.
In view of the aforementioned facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a storing method and a storing apparatus for an elongated plastic deformation member such as raw rubber, in which partial deformation or deformation nonuniformity of the elongated plastic deformation member can be suppressed during storing of the elongated plastic deformation member which is wound into layers.